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Fundraising Outside the Box
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Louie McGee’s parents are constantly amazed by their son. The 11-year-old student is a blur on the soccer field and in the swimming pool, shows his creative side through improv and by making large pieces of pop art from duct tape, conducts science experiments in his basement laboratory and is even a budding author.
“We’re really lucky to have a kid like Louie,” shares his father, Greg. “He can do almost anything, and then some, that other kids can do.” Greg’s optimism wasn’t always so strong after Louie was diagnosed with Stargardt disease at age 5 during a routine eye exam. The ophthalmologist noticed flecks on Louie’s retina and advised the McGees that there was nothing he could do and there were no treatments in sight for his condition. “I had never imagined blindness as a possibility, and we had no family history of retinal disease. For the first month after the diagnosis, it felt like a deep, profound loss,” remembers Greg. “Then we realized Louie was the same kid he was the day before the news.” The 5th grader’s positive attitude and urge to jump into everything he can is reassuring for his parents. “I don’t have any control over how fast his vision will be taken away, and, as a parent, that is a hard thing to swallow,” says Annie McGee. “I have to look to Louie and see how he copes. We often say, ‘He’s driving the bus on this,’ and I learn from him.” Making a Splash Louie’s latest initiative is serving as Youth Chair for this year’s 5th Annual Twin Cities VisionWalk, and, in true Louie fashion, he’s thinking big when it comes to boosting fundraising and awareness efforts. The Mall of America had been a terrific partner in the past, donating all coins tossed in its fountain during the month of August to VisionWalk, and Twin Cities walk leaders saw an opportunity to generate more buzz and take advantage of the mall’s high-traffic area. And so the “Help Louie Make a Splash” campaign was born. The McGee family hosted a fun kick-off event at the Mall of America fountain, inviting student groups, friends and passers-by to join in on a “coin dump” to jump-start the campaign.
In comparison to 2010, when the Mall of America fountain coins totaled $900 without any promotional campaign, Louie’s efforts increased that coin total by 15 percent this year. Also contributing to the McGee family’s impressive team fundraising total was their effort to sell “Team Louie” buttons at Louie’s school, which brought in on $1,000. Focus on the Future Amid the media attention and outreach events, the end goal is not lost. Louie’s wishes to one day drive a car and see live action at Minnesota Twins ballgames fuel the McGee family’s motivation to “fundraise outside the box.” “For the first time ever, things are happening and clinical trials are underway, thanks to the Foundation,” says Greg. “Research funding will be the answer to Louie’s vision problems, and we are hopeful the issues will be resolved in his lifetime if there is enough money to back up the research.” Echoes Annie, “If a breakthrough restored Louie’s vision, he’d interact in a whole different way, and see things he’s never seen before. What a cool experience that would be for him.”
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